Christina Whitlock, Beyond Measure Podcast
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Sometimes Action is Shallow... (A Piano Teacher Confession)
Today, I Confess: Sometimes Action is Shallow In the preface to his book, Intelligent Music Teaching, Robert Duke makes a quip about the typical music teacher conference experience, saying, "...to leave the room with nothing more than a new activity for Monday, with no greater understanding of the fundamental principles of human learning... is to leave the room without having learned anything of lasting value." This key observation comes just TWO PAGES into Duke's must-read collection of...
I Didn't See it Coming... (A Piano Teacher Confession)
Today, I Confess: I Didn't See This Coming... At the end of Episode 214, I promised a Confession today related to the universal SHOULDS of teaching. Well, forgive me, but I'm going in a different direction. *** Something happened yesterday that knocked the wind right out of me. You've probably experienced something similar. First, the backstory: I teach an elementary-aged sibling pair that I absolutely adore. That affection notwithstanding, they've had a discouraging year of piano. There has...
It's Easy to Focus on the Wrong Things. (A Piano Teacher Confession)
Today, I Confess: It's Easy to Focus on the Wrong Things. It's Recital Week over here in my world and that means I've been a busy bee. 🐝 I wasn't going to send a Confession today (keep those self-imposed deadlines in perspective, friends!) but then I was hit with an overwhelming desire to make a recital-related confession... so here I am! 👋 When it comes to recitals, it's easy to focus on the wrong things. Many teachers struggle with recital season because they feel pressure over how their...
What's NOT Working (A Piano Teacher Confession)
Today, I Confess: Some things in my TeacherLife are NOT working. As promised in this week's podcast episode, today I am sharing a few things from my recent reflections on What is NOT Working This Season of Life. Every quarter, I make two lists: (1) What is working this season of life, and (2) What is NOT. I like to share some of my reflections from the first question on the podcast, and some from the second list here. No. 1: Taxes Big sigh. As I posted in IG a few weeks ago, this is the only...
Teaching the Way You Were Taught? (A Piano Teacher Confession)
*If this is your first Piano Teacher Confession email, you may have landed on my list after signing up for updates on my 2025 Intermediate Teaching Cohort with Janna Williamson. WELCOME to the most honest space in Piano Teacher World! Today, I Confess: I Don't Think We Teach the Way We Were Taught. (not exactly, anyway...) A common sentiment among piano teachers is this: "When I started teaching, I didn't have any training, so I taught the way I was taught." I spent years saying the same...
I Don't Always Get My Way. (A Piano Teacher Confession)
Today, I Confess: I Don't Always Get My Way. (not that any of us do...) This week's podcast episode featured 7 points of criteria I use when choosing repertoire for my recitals. I've got a story about a time I *didn't* get my way in the recital selection process... but FIRST! Meet the 2025 Recital Guide. 🤩 Do you have pieces that seem to find their way to your recital programs over and over again? I'm sharing 36 of mine in the 2025 Recital Guide. Broken down by seven levels (Pre-Reading...
This is My Roman Empire. (A Piano Teacher Confession)
Today, I Confess: This is My Roman Empire. *If you're unaware of the "Roman Empire" trend, it's essentially code for something you find yourself thinking about with (perhaps irrational?) frequency. There's a house I drive by almost every day that intrigues me. The family who lives there has one of the largest collections of inflatable lawn figures I've seen. ...not so much in quantity, but in variety. Sure, this yard is decked out for Halloween and Christmas... but they also put out...
I Am My Student's Favorite. (A Piano Teacher Confession)
Today, I Confess: I Am My Student's Favorite. If you caught last week’s letter, you know I’m in the final stretches of festival preparations for my students. I’m not going to sugar coat these things: I appear to have hit my threshold. I am always quick to absorb whatever energy is around me, and since a lot of my students (including my own children) are feeling stressy, I appear to have lost ALL chill. Teacher Mom is a difficult road to balance - which is why so many of you do not teach your...
I'm Conflicted. (A Piano Teacher Confession)
Today, I Confess: I Am Conflicted. As teachers, we must decide for ourselves how we feel about adjudicated events. ...and we're allowed to change our minds. Let's state the obvious: Playing for a judge is not the right fit for every student In the master list of Pros and Cons, evaluative events have plenty of checks in both columns When adjudicated events go well, they're magic. Around 60% of my studio is preparing for a festival next weekend. It's worth noting this email is being written...
Lesson Planning Feels Hard (Sometimes) : A Confession
Today, I Confess: Lesson Planning Feels Hard (Sometimes). When it comes to writing lesson plans for my students, I feel like I've done it all: When I started teaching at 14, I had no idea Lesson Plans were "a thing". That's why you use a method series, right? Don't they do all the work for you? 🙅♀️(please note: they don't) There have been seasons where I've mapped out detailed weekly plans for each individual student. I named objectives, dreamed up activities, and pre-planned assignments for...
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